The Downside To Growing Brass Buttons As A Low-Maintenance Ground Cover

If you're looking for a fast-growing ground cover that is also low-maintenance, you might have come across an interesting plant commonly referred to as brass buttons (Leptinella squalida). This fascinating species hails from New Zealand and has these small leaves that look just like tiny ferns. It also sports similarly miniature green to yellow button-like flowers, hence its common name. While this is a great low-maintenance ground cover for gardeners in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 10, it does have a downside that you might want to consider before planting it in your yard. Brass buttons has quite an aggressive growth habit through rhizomes and stems, both below and above the ground, and can actually spread indefinitely. This makes it one of those common weed-suppressing plants that can become nuisances themselves.

Although you might consider this an advantage if you have a large area you want covered, in more contained situations, you may have to pay more attention to its maintenance, so that you can control its spread. The other aspect you want to think about before growing this ground cover as a lawn substitute is that it's only evergreen in zones 9 through 10. In colder areas, it will die back over winter but start to regrow in spring. This means that the area it's growing in will look a little sparse until the dainty fern-like leaves have had time to fill in again by late spring. 

Apart from the need to control the spread of this species, you'll also find that it has some specific cultural requirements. While it will happily grow in full sun, it may need some afternoon shade in the hotter regions. It's also not drought-tolerant, so it will require regular watering during dry spells to keep it looking lush. Brass button ground cover does have a shallow root system, which is why it can spread so well, but this means that it may need regular annual fertilizer applications as well, unless you have particularly fertile soil. On the plus side, this plant doesn't have any notable disease or insect problems.

If you don't mind the extra maintenance required to keep brass buttons under control, it would do best in areas that have defined edges, such as beside a driveway or garden path. It could also be a practical plant to grow between your pavers to add even more beauty to your landscape. This will make it far easier to cut back the spreading stems so that they don't invade other areas of your yard. Make sure you don't confuse this species with southern brass buttons (Cotula australis) and common brass buttons (Cotula coronopifolia), both of which are regarded as invasive in some states. For an alternative weed-suppressing ground cover that boasts button-like flowers, you might want to consider creeping gold buttons (Cotula 'Tiffindell Gold').